Grace for the Race

On a scale of 1-10, how content are you?  What would those closest to you say regarding your level of contentment?  How would your coworkers rate you?  Honestly now, does your score depend upon the circumstances you are facing at the time and God’s “painless” providence for your life?

Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.”  (Hebrews 13:5)

Therein lies the key to exchanging chaos for contentment.  Chaos is found in the love of money, because regardless of how much you have, you never have enough.  Contentment is found in what you have—and His name is Jesus Christ.  Knowing that you will never walk this life alone is the key to exchanging chaos for contentment.  And the choice is always yours. 

• Whether you are in plenty or want . . . He is with you!
• Whether you are in sickness or health . . . He is with you!
• Whether you are in prosperity or poverty . . . He is with you!

 You see, contentment is never found in the stuff of life.  It is only found in the Savior.  He is enough.  We stumble into quicksand when we look for satisfaction in anything smaller than God.  Nothing in this world was ever designed to do for us what only Jesus can do, and that is to replace a life of chaos with contentment. 

In God’s economy, the stuff He gives us was never intended to satisfy us at the deepest level.  Only God can do that, because only God is big enough to fill the God-sized void inside of us that He placed there, so that we would cry out to Him alone and depend on Him alone!  When we focus on what the world offers, we find chaos instead of contentment.  But when we focus on what the living Word offers, we find true contentment, because we understand all our gifts must be held loosely.  It is never “the stuff” that destroys our contentment and fills our life with chaos; it is how tightly we hold on to it that does.  Hold on loosely to all your stuff and cling tightly to your Savior.

One last thought: if you ever find yourself losing your grip on Him, relax.  You were never holding Him in the first place!  He has had a hold on you from before the creation of the world (Ephesians 1:4), and He has promised to never let go! “Neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8:38-39).  Now that is the ultimate source of continual contentment.   

This is the Gospel.  This is grace for your race.  NEVER FORGET THAT . . . AMEN!

As we come out of Holy Week, let’s take a moment to reflect on our motivation the ministry we engage in for our Lord and Master.  First, let me once again dispel the notion that only those in “full-time,” “professional” positions in the church or para-church organizations are in ministry for the Master.  Every child born of grace is in full-time ministry, regardless of the work they perform (excluding, of course, work that would be prohibited by the revealed truth of Scripture—dealing drugs, prostitution, pornography, etc.).  The butcher, baker, and candlestick maker are all in full time ministry and should be “rendering service with a good will as to the Lord” (Ephesians 6:7) for the glory of our risen King.  With that understood, let’s take a look at our motivation for ministry.

Have you ever felt unqualified or inadequate for the ministry of service God has called you to?  If not, reflect more deeply on who you really are and what He has called you to . . . and you will!  Feeling unqualified and inadequate puts us in good company.  The apostle Paul felt this way. 

Although I am less than the least of all God’s people, this grace was given me: to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ.  (Ephesians 3:8)

Paul knew he did not live up to the truth he was teaching and preaching.  Yet he understood a great truth that we all need to understand: his ministry was a grace given to him by the Lord Jesus Christ . . . and so is yours!  Paul never felt worthy or adequate in his calling.  He knew who he was before Jesus showed up (a great sinner in need of a great Savior), and he knew what he was after Jesus showed up (a saved sinner in need of a great Savior).  Yet he fulfilled his calling, because he knew it was because it was caused by God’s grace and not his own goodness or good works. 

It is only when we see our calling as a result solely of the undeserved and unmerited favor of God that we can we get past the concern for our worthiness and adequacy.  Every person who has ever ministered in the name of the Most High God has been unworthy and inadequate—except, of course, for Jesus Himself.  For the rest of us, it is all because of God’s grace . . . it is only because of God’s grace . . . period!

Some readers might be thinking: “What about my clear gifting in my area of ministry?”  Well, as Paul rhetorically asked the Corinthians, “What do you have that you did not receive?” (1 Corinthians 4:7).  Do you think your gift is something that you somehow generated yourself?

We have different gifts according to the grace given us.  (Romans 12:6)

The spiritual gifts Paul was speaking about, gifts which equip, enable, and empower us to perform our ministries to the glory of the Master, are only a result of God’s grace.  John the Baptist stated, “A person cannot receive even one thing unless it is given him from heaven” (John 3:27).  We did not earn these gifts.  We did not merit these gifts.  We did not deserve these gifts.  They are nothing less than a gracious bequest from our good God, to be used for His glory in the advancement of the cause of His kingdom.  Both the gifts and the ministries in which we are to use them are gifts of God’s amazing grace.

So what is our motivation for ministry?  We know we don’t deserve to minister in the name of Jesus, and yet He has determined to call us into service.  The key is found in 2 Corinthians 4:1.

Therefore, since through God’s mercy we have this ministry, we do not lose heart. 

We are unworthy.  We are inadequate.  We are undeserving.  But we are His, and He has called us into service for His glory, and that is enough to know!  Paul, who wrote much of the New Testament, never lost sight of his unworthiness and inadequacy as an apostle and writer.  But he balanced his understanding of his emptiness with the fullness of Christ.  To be sure, Paul knew he was undeserving of his calling, but because Jesus called him, that was enough to know. 

We claim nothing in and of ourselves.  If we are gifted, it is because He has gifted us.  If we are fruitful, it is because He has made us fruitful.  If we are blessed, it is because He has blessed us.  Everything we get that is good comes from Him (see James 1:17).  Knowing that it is all of God’s grace is the motivation for ministry.  Knowing it is not about us and it is all about Him is the motivation to keep on keeping on, regardless of the cost or circumstance.

This is the Gospel.  This is grace for your race.  NEVER FORGET THAT . . . AMEN!

For centuries, sacrifice after sacrifice was brought to the temple to atone for the sins of the people of God . . . until Good Friday.  On this day the perfect Sacrifice went to the cross, willingly and without hesitation, to pay the price, once-for-all, for all of our sins.   

“It is finished!”  (John 19:10)

The great work of Good Friday is found in the fact that it is a finished work.  What Jesus came to do He did do . . . and now it is finished.  Never again will any payment or sacrifice be required, because payment was made in full.  John the Baptist confirmed that in God’s perfect plan of redemption, no other sacrifice would ever be needed to take away our sins. 

“Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world.” (John 1:29)

No more goats or bulls or lambs or pigeons.  The perfect Lamb of God has shed his blood to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.  This is not something you look forward to.  This is not something you hope for.  This is not something you experience after years of walking with the Lord.  This is the truth for every child of God the moment they place their trust in Christ’s sacrificial death.  The great work of Good Friday is a finished work. 

There is nothing we can do to add to what Jesus has already done on our behalf.  No penance . . . no performance . . . no persuasion.  To be sure, the proud pharisaical heart that lies within each of us rises up against this truth.  Surely there must be something we need to do—if not to get into heaven, at least to maintain our right standing!  But I have emphasized since the beginning of this blog that the same grace that saves you is the same grace that sanctifies you.  You are not saved and then expected to maintain your salvation through your own spiritual sweat. 

“I lay down my life . . . No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord.” (John 10:17-18)

Jesus willingly went to the cross for His people.  Jesus did for us what we could never do for ourselves, and He did it because He wanted to do it.  They did not drag Him kicking or screaming or fighting or defending.  When Jesus prayed from the cross on that Good Friday, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit” (Luke 23:46), He made it clear that He was in complete control of everything that was going on.  The voice of truth calmly spoke words of comfort and confidence as He willingly laid down His life for us and voluntarily gave up the Ghost. 

Bruce Marchiano portrayed Jesus Christ in the The Gospel According to Matthew. Marchiano authored a book, In the Footsteps of Jesus, about his experiences portraying our Lord. In a gripping passage about Christ’s unwavering determination to die on our behalf, Marchiano wrote:

It’s so vital a thing for us all to grasp: Jesus wasn’t forced to the cross—He chose the cross.

And on that day, that most awful of days, He wasn’t dragged to the cross. He was crawling to the cross. His battered body was giving out on Him; He had little life remaining in Him, struggling against all odds; yet He had to make it to the cross. Fighting against the pain, struggling, clawing, groping, crawling with everything He had, a Champion driving through indescribable pain and opposition to see the fulfillment of His mission—one more step, one more step … almost there … one more … made it! — and the hammer drops.

And then the victory cry. In the original text, it is translated from a single Greek word: “Tetelestai!”  It is the triumphant pronouncement of heaven’s finest warrior: “IT IS FINISHED!”  I do not believe that our Lord gasped out His word; I am sure His voice thundered!  Matthew records that immediately afterward,

The curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. And the earth shook, and the rocks were split . . . When the centurion and those who were with him, keeping watch over Jesus, saw the earthquake and what took place, they were filled with awe and said, “Truly this was the Son of God!” (Matthew 27:51, 54)

The great work of Good Friday is the finished work of Jesus Christ.  He cannot love you any more or any less.  No matter how you perform, good or bad, you are secure in the finished work of Jesus Christ.  It is done. It is finished. The debt is paid in full.

This is the Gospel.  This is grace for your race.  NEVER FORGET THAT . . . AMEN!

The cross work of Jesus not only makes us one with Him, it makes us one with each other.  Listen to these words from the lips of our Savior as He hung upon that cross.

Jesus said to her, “Woman, here is your son,” and to the disciple, “Here is your mother.”  (John 19:26-27)

Jesus told John and Mary that they would be part of the same household and family from that moment on . . . but they would also become part of a forever family.  To be sure, we are saved individually, but we are not to remain that way.  When we were saved, we were brought into our forever family—not by human bloodlines, but by the blood of the Lamb. 

In Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others.  (Romans 12:5)

Everyone who has placed their trust in Jesus as Lord and Savior has been made part of a new forever family.  And, as Paul wrote, “Each member belongs to all the others.”  No matter where this message finds you as we move through Holy Week, if you are in Christ, you are a member of His forever family.  As Steve Brown says, “Everyone who belongs to Jesus belongs to everyone who belongs to Jesus.”  And that includes you!

Because of this remarkable truth, everyone matters.  Regardless of your gifting and calling, regardless of your success and station in life, you matter.  God did not make us all the same to do the same thing.  Each member is as valuable as the next.  Each one is as needed as the next. 

And as members of the body of Christ, we must always remember we are not the Head.  Jesus is!  When we mess that up, we mess others up.  When we see ourselves as the head, rather than a member, of the Body of Christ . . .

• We criticize
• We condemn
• We control

Only the Gospel can free us from the need to be the head, rather than a member.  Only the Gospel keeps us working toward the expansion of God’s kingdom rather than our own kingdom.  Only the Gospel frees us from slavery to self, preoccupied with our agendas, our goals, our dreams, our plans.  When the Gospel rules our hearts, it shapes our lives into the shape of a cross. 

We not only have an intimate personal relationship with the Almighty (vertical), we have a family relationship with everyone in His body as brothers and sisters (horizontal).  United with Christ vertically means we are to be unified with every other believer horizontally.  What is amazing is we do not have to create this unity.  It has been given to every believer at conversion.  Our job is to maintain unity, and that can only be done when the truth of the Gospel seizes us.  Only the Gospel can free us from our critical spirit.  Only the Gospel frees us from our desire to be condemning.  Only the Gospel frees us from our fundamental need to gain and keep control.

Nothing can ever change that truth.  As Paul wrote, “I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8:38-39).

This is the Gospel.  This is grace for your race.  NEVER FORGET THAT . . . AMEN!

As we begin this Holy Week, we should pause and meditate upon this passage of Scripture, and in particular, some very remarkable words from our Lord.

When the hour came, he reclined at table, and the apostles with him. And he said to them, “I have earnestly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer. For I tell you I will not eat it until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God.” And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he said, “Take this, and divide it among yourselves. For I tell you that from now on I will not drink of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes.” And he took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” And likewise the cup after they had eaten, saying, “This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood. But behold, the hand of him who betrays me is with me on the table. For the Son of Man goes as it has been determined, but woe to that man by whom he is betrayed!” And they began to question one another, which of them it could be who was going to do this.  (Luke 22:14-23)

The context of this passage is the institution of the Lord’s Supper on the night Jesus would be betrayed.  To be sure, Jesus was speaking specifically about remembering Him (who He was and what He did for us) when we partake of the Lord’s Supper.  However, we can apply the words “Do this in remembrance of me” to every area of life.  And there can be only one reason why our Lord would say such a thing: it is possible that we might forget Him!  Sadly, all of us know this to be all too true from personal experience.  If the bitter truth be told, forgetting our Lord is no mere possibility; it is an all-too-often practice for every child of God. 

• We forget Him in our single life.
• We forget Him in our school life.
• We forget Him in our social life.
• We forget Him in our married life.
• We forget Him in our professional life.
• We forget Him in our recreational life.
• We forget Him in our secret thought life.
• We even forget Him in our church life!

Charles Spurgeon penned this piercing indictment: “It appears almost impossible that those who have been redeemed by the blood of the dying Lamb, and loved with an everlasting love by the eternal Son of God, should forget that gracious Savior; but, if startling to the ear, it is, alas! too apparent to the eye to allow us to deny the crime.  Forget Him who never forgot us!  Forget Him who poured His blood forth for our sins!  Forget Him who loved us even to the death!  Can it be possible?  Yes!”

It is good to start Holy Week with a reminder of just how easy it is for us to forget our Lord.  When we love created things more than the Creator (John 1:3), we forget Him.  When we love our good gifts more than the Giver of every good and perfect gift (Ephesians 1:3), we forget Him.  When we are consumed by our work rather than adoring the One who gives us wealth and possessions (Ecclesiastes 5:19), we forget Him.

Even when we are busily engaged in doing the work of the Lord, we can forget Him.  This has been my own experience on far too many occasions.  Like Martha, I easily become distracted—even flustered—while serving the Lord, forgetting to take time to simply be still and know that He is God!  

Wherever you find yourself tempted to forget your Lord this Holy Week, pause for just a moment and prayerfully consider all that He has done for you . . . all that He has given you.  Consider the death, burial, and resurrection of your Savior and give thanks to God for His indescribable gift!  When you do, you will forget Him not.    

This is the Gospel.  This is grace for your race.  NEVER FORGET THAT . . . AMEN!

In the Boland home, the Toy Story trilogy cycles through our DVD player on a regular basis.  It never ceases to amaze me how many opportunities we find to point out some aspect of the power of the Gospel when the toys come to life.  One of my favorite illustrations is what I call “Space Ranger” saints.

If you’ve never seen Toy Story, the toys belong to a boy named Andy.  His favorite toy is a cowboy doll, named Woody.  All is well in Andy’s bedroom until he receives a new toy on his birthday, a “Buzz Lightyear” Space Ranger toy, complete with expandable wings, audible commands, and a laser beam.  The problem with Buzz is he believes he is the real “Buzz Lightyear”—a Space Ranger sworn to protect the galaxy from the evil emperor Zurg, sworn enemy of the galactic alliance. 

Woody, burning with jealously at all the attention lavished on Buzz by Andy and the other toys, takes it upon himself to convince Buzz (and anyone else who will listen) that Buzz is only a toy, who cannot fly and does not possess any super powers.  He is, Woody shrieks indignantly, nothing more than “a child’s plaything!”

Buzz ignores these suggestions until he sees a television ad for the Buzz Lightyear action figures.  In that instant, Buzz is completely crushed under the weight of realization.  He can’t fly.  His laser beam is nothing more than a little light bulb that blinks.  He is not protecting anyone from the evil emperor Zurg.  He is in fact, only a toy made in Taiwan. 

So . . . what does this have to do with you and me?  Are we anything like Buzz Lightyear?  You betcha!  We are just like Buzz when we believe we are something we are not, and determine to keep up the façade by posing, pretending, and performing.  And when we are finally exposed for what we truly are—gross sinners in need of a great Savior—we are driven into the ashes of defeat.  The Bible warns us against falling into the realm of being a “Space Ranger” saint.

Do nothing from rivalry or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves.  (Philippians 2:3)

Love one another with brotherly affection.  Outdo one another in showing honor.  (Romans 12:10)

Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another.

(Galatians 5:26)

Only the power of the Gospel frees us from thinking too highly of ourselves.  Only the power of the Gospel frees us from continually comparing ourselves with others.  Only the power of the Gospel keeps us from running on the performance treadmill of life.  Only the power of the Gospel frees us to acknowledge our weakness . . . and our only source of strength: the power of the Gospel!  And only the power of the Gospel keeps us keeping on when we realize we are not all that we thought we were! 

For Buzz, after he discovered that he was not all that he had thought he was, his understanding of the deep, abiding love Andy had for him that validated who he was—not his expandable wings . . . not his audible commands . . . not his laser beam . . . not his karate chop arm.  He may have only been a toy, but he was Andy’s toy, and in the end that was enough for Buzz to be. 

For us, it is our understanding of the deep, abiding love Jesus has for us that validates who we are.  Not our jobs . . . not our incomes . . . not our address . . . not our social circle.  Regardless of what we have or don’t have, when we have Jesus we have everything. 

This is the Gospel.  This is grace for your race.  NEVER FORGET THAT . . . AMEN!

It seems like a contradiction to be speaking about “the grace of broken places.”  But this is exactly what a broken place is for broken people who are united to Christ by faith.  Do you remember the passage from Isaiah that Jesus selected to announce the beginning of His public ministry?

The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed. (Luke 4:18)

God uses broken places to make broken people whole.  He uses the broken place of poverty to make us rich.  He uses the broken place of sickness to make us well.  He uses the broken place of suffering to give us peace.  The grace of broken places is known only by those who are living for Jesus.  When we are living for the self, broken places become stumbling blocks; when we are living for the Savior, broken places become stepping stones. 

I have learned from personal experience that broken bones heal stronger than they originally were, because of the calcium buildup at the place of the break.  This is true in the life of the believer.  Every broken place is designed to be a place where we grow stronger for having gone through it.  To be sure, our plans get interrupted, our agendas get sidetracked, and our goals get put on hold.  But that is only because God is at work in us to create something better than we were originally hoping for and working toward.

So . . . where in your life right now to you need to see a broken place as a grace from God?

“My grace is sufficient for you,” the Lord told Paul, “for my power is made perfect in weakness” (2 Corinthians 12:9).  I love the late JB Phillips’ rendering of our Lord’s words:

“My grace is enough for you: for where there is weakness,

my power is shown the more completely.”

Broken places are designed to demonstrate both our weakness and our utter dependence upon the grace of God.  That is why He has put His gospel in “jars of clay.”  God’s grace is on grand display when it shines forth in human weakness, in order “to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us” (2 Corinthians 4:7). 

God is not only in your broken places; He has ordained them for you to go through.  Why?  Because He loves you—not only just as you are—but so much so that He refuses to leave you there!

This is the Gospel.  This is grace for your race.  NEVER FORGET THAT . . . AMEN!

How is your prayer life?  When you pray, what do you pray for?  Are your prayers more self-centered . . . or other-centered?  Inevitably, when I teach on prayer, some Christians insist that we should always be praying for others and never for ourselves.  What do you think?

To be sure, we live in a self-centered and self-absorbed age—both inside and outside the church.  Our sin nature, which will contend against the Spirit until the day we pass into glory, is easily seduced into praying for all things personal.  Yet there is one personal prayer petition that should be on the heart of every believer, every day of our lives.  It is David’s prayer In Psalm 51.

Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me.  (Psalm 51:10)

When was the last time you prayed this prayer?  David knew how sinful he was, and he knew his sin was rooted in his heart, not his hands or even his head.  Jesus patiently explained to His disciples, “From within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, coveting, wickedness, deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride, foolishness.  All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person” (Mark 7:21-23).

David desired a clean heart more than anything else, because without a clean heart nothing else would be clean in his life.  And he knew there is only place where he could receive one: at the throne of grace.  It is grace that first gives us the desire to want a clean heart; and it is grace that determines to do it by the power of the Gospel and the Spirit of God. 

Sin makes each heart black and ugly, and only the Holy Spirit can clean it.  David knew this, and he cried out to God for deliverance from his broken, fallen condition.  Grace reorients the human heart and empowers it to beat for the Savior, rather than for self. 

David knew that what shaped his heart ruled his life.  He lived this truth when he plunged deep into sin with Bathsheba . . . dragging all of Israel down with him.  Before he cried out to God for a clean heart, leisure and lust shaped his heart and ultimately ruled his life.  But after grace showed up, David’s heart was reshaped by the desire to beat as one with God’s heart.  And springing from this desire we find the perfect personal prayer petition: “Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me.”

We must remember that our hearts will never be totally clean on this side of the grave.  But that should not stop our desire to possess one!  Only the awesome power of the Gospel can take a sinner and make him a saint . . . while he is still a sinner!  The Gospel is at work scrubbing away the sins of the flesh, and the Divine Cleaner will not stop until our heart is totally clean and devoid of all sin.  It will be painful!  It will be a prolonged process.  But it has been promised, and so it shall be performed.    

This is the Gospel.  This is grace for your race.  NEVER FORGET THAT . . . AMEN!

In working with people for many years, in both Men & Sports and Marriage & Family Ministries, it never ceases to amaze me just how self-deluded people really are—and I put myself at the top of that list!  The world cannot figure out why people are all so messed up.  Oh, there are plenty of highbrow theories; the “experts” speak of environment and biochemistry.  Granted, these factors affect us all, but these are not the root causes of why we are so deluded.  Only the Word of God paints an accurate picture of the real reason why; in a word, it is SIN!

• Sin is deceptive
• Sin is deceitful
• Sin is demanding

Sin works to distort, deform, and destroy everything it comes in contact with.  This is exactly what was happening in the life of King David . . . until the grace of God showed up, causing David to say something so radical that only God could have laid these words on his heart.

For I know my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me.  (Psalm 51:3)

These words come from a man who stole another man’s wife, got her pregnant, and then sent the woman’s husband to the front lines of the battlefield to die.  David demonstrated himself to be a liar, a thief, an adulterer, and a murderer.  And yet, incredibly, God calls David “a man after my own heart” (Acts 13:22 NIV).  How could this be?  Only because of unimaginable grace!

It is grace that opens blind eyes to see.  It is grace that opens deaf ears to hear.  It is grace that shocks a dead heart back to life.  It is grace that allows us to begin the process of knowing who we really are and to cry out with the apostle Paul, “O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?” (Romans 7:24-25 NKJV).

Has grace enabled you to say this today?  Do you know yourself as the great sinner you really are?  If so, cheer up!  Jesus Christ is a far greater Savior than you are a sinner!  Only when you acknowledge this truth are you on the road to knowing yourself.  You no longer have to blame your way out of your sin.  You no longer have to excuse your way out of your sin.  You no longer have to hide your way out of your sin.  Confess your sin to the One who died for it—all of it—and He is faithful to forgive you. 

No penance . . . no performance . . . just the Prince of Peace—ready, willing, and able to forgive your greatest sin and your most heinous act.  Plus all of the other gross stuff you do every day!

This is the Gospel.  This is grace for your race.  NEVER FORGET THAT . . . AMEN!

There is a great deal of confusion regarding what Jesus said in John 17 about Christians being in the world but not of the world.  Let’s unpack this important truth and find some practical application to living out these two little words with one big difference.

First, what is meant by “the world”?  Jesus is not referring to the created order, which God said is very good (Genesis 1:31); nor is He referring to the universal community of humanity.  What Jesus is talking about is the godless, sinful systems of this world that are ruled by Satan (see 2 Corinthians 4:4; Ephesians 2:2, 6:12).  This is exactly what the apostle Paul is referring to in the following verse.

Do not be conformed to the patterns of this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind.  (Romans 12:2)

Jesus and Paul are both telling us not to be conformed to the sinful patterns of this current world system, because we are no longer ruled by sin and Satan (Romans 6:14).  In brief, we are to avoid worldliness.  We are not instructed to retreat from contact with the people, places, and things in this world (see 1 Corinthians 5:9), which God is in the process of redeeming.  We are not to seek the quiet solitude of the monastic life simply to avoid our surrounding culture, as many over the centuries have done.  We are, however, instructed to resist the sinful direction this world seeks to lure us into (see James 4:4), a purely horizontal direction devoid of God and the revealed truth of His sacred Scriptures.  “If anyone loves the world,” John warned, “the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world— the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride in possessions—is not from the Father but is from the world” (1 John 2:15-16).

Sin has corrupted everything!  Everything God made good has been twisted, marred, and corrupted by sin.  That is why God hates sin so intensely . . . so much so that He sent His Son, Jesus, to atone for it on the cross.  Because God hates sin, we too must hate sin, which is why we are to understand the difference between being in the world but not of the world. 

• We are not to think like the world
• We are not to act like the world
• We are not to talk like the world
• We are not to desire like the world

God has placed us in this world to be both salt and light (Matthew 5:13-16).  Jesus emphasized this truth throughout His ministry.  The analogy of light suggests an unmistakable presence.  When the light goes on, the darkness disappears.  When we let our “light” shine before others, the world is impacted by both the “good news” we preach and the “good works” we practice. 

“Salt” needs to be understood in its historical context.  In the first century, salt was used primarily to preserve food, rather than to enhance its flavor.  God wants to use His people to preserve the world from its evil influences by flavoring it with the truth and power of the Gospel.  God wants the distinct difference between His unchanging truth and the world’s fleeting philosophies to be preserved.

Where there is war we are to bring peace.  Where there is sorrow we are to bring comfort.  Where there is hatred we are to bring love.  Where there is unforgiveness we are to bring reconciliation.  Where there is error, we are to speak truth.  We do this by preaching the Gospel with both our lips and our lives.

As my friend and pastor Tullian Tchividjian likes to say, we are to actively engage the culture around us by being countercultural.  We make a difference in this world by being different from this world.  We live against the world by living for this world, refusing to become consumed by worldly pleasures.  Not being of this world means we are consumed by Christ alone.  Because Jesus is making all things new, He is for this world.  And because we are Christ’s brothers (Romans 8:29), must we be for this world. 

So how are you doing at shining light into the dark places?  Are you enhancing the flavor of eternal life in this fallen, broken, and hurting world?  Remember, only God’s story provides the answers to the questions that matter most in life.  Only God’s story explains the beginning (creation), the problem (fall), and the solution (redemption through the blood of the Lamb).  Only God’s story weaves together the past, present, and promised future for all those who are in this world but not of this world . . . and we must proclaim that story to all the world!

This is the Gospel.  This is grace for your race.  NEVER FORGET THAT . . . AMEN!